Horse stuff
A few of you have asked about my boys...which really gives me kind of a nice feeling. I mean, they consume so very much of my mind and thoughts and time and life, of me - between them on the one hand, and Bodie (the other Bodie *g*) and Doyle on the other, sometimes it feels like there's no room for anything else (poor long-suffering Mr. JaC! ;-) - but it still always kind of takes me by surprise that anyone else would be interested in them (...me?).
So it's been a long time since I updated. I had some issues with Griggs...my poor old boy; he's 22 this year, and for a while I really thought he was declining. He lost a ton of weight at the end of the winter, which isn't that uncommon, but he was positively gaunt, and rather than gaining it all back when the grass came in, as they usually do, he stayed abnormally thin. And then at the end of May he started drooling - not normal horse drool, but really gross, excessive drool, with bits of chewed-up food in it. Yuck. And he looked so old and depressed and terrible. I started the process of diagnosis had blood tests done, etc. etc., nothing conclusive - and then the vet gave him a gastroscopy, stuck a tube up his nose and then down, first into his gutteral pouches ( strange little flaps where there are nerves that control swallowing, in case there was something there that might cause the drooling) and then down his esophagus into his stomach. He has a very, very long esophagus! It was kind of cool to watch...the worst part of it for him was that he couldn't eat for 12 hours before - which meant he had no turnout the night before, and he was one angry and grumpy horse that morning!
Anyway, the vet found moderate-severity ulcers in his stomach. She wasn't sure whether or to what extent they were related to his other symptoms - drooling can be a sign of abdominal pain, but she wasn't certain these ulcers were severe enough for that - but we decided to treat them first and then go from there. There's a very effective (and expensive! seems like it must be made of liquid gold or something! but at least it works...) ulcer treatment for horses - a 28-day course; we also upped his feed and put him on some alfalfa (it has a high pH and thus a buffering effect). Well, after four days I noticed that he was drooling less. By two weeks into the treatment, the drooling was gone, and he'd started to put on weight, and he generally was just...happier. He's finished his treatment now (and had another gastroscopy, to confirm the ulcers are indeed all gone), and he's so much better - he doesn't look old and pathetic anymore; he doesn't act depressed. So it's obvious, in retrospect, that he was in pain... That's the most difficult thing, because you know something's wrong, but they can't talk, and it's not obvious what it is, and you just have to find a way to figure it out.
He's still too thin - he lost a lot of muscle, even though I continued to ride him - but hopefully with time he'll regain that; he's a very big guy, so it's not going to happen overnight. I'm just so glad we were able to find the cause of the problem, and to treat it, and that he's feeling better. He's such a good trouper...
Bodie's had some issues too. He's had some continuing back soreness, and though the soreness isn't in the saddle area, I've finally had to accept that it's likely saddle related and that there's just no getting around the fact that he needs a new saddle. I've been reluctant to accept this, because his current saddle is supposed to be so fancy and high tech, and it cost so damn much (luckily, it's a brand that is in high demand, and I should be able to resell it without too much difficulty whenever I decide to). But none of that makes it the right saddle for him - I can no longer deny that it just doesn't fit him. I'm not sure it ever fit him as well as it should, but it was probably at least acceptable - but not anymore. I got it when he was not even 5, just a baby, and he's 8 now, bulkier and more muscled; his build has really changed, especially in the last year. Now I think it's uncomfortable for him at best, painful at worst. And I can't let that go on.
So over the last few weeks I've tried saddles, and yesterday I bit the bullet and ordered a new one. It had to be done, for Bodie - but to tell the truth, I'm not entirely unhappy about it. It's never really been a great saddle for me either - comfortable, but it doesn't put me in a good position, good balance; doesn't help me at all - and I definitely need all the help I can get. I don't need to be fighting my tack. That alone probably wouldn't have been enough to justify the expenditure, but it does mean I won't be unhappy to stop riding in this one, and I'm definitely looking forward to getting the new one. Unfortunately, that probably won't be for at least six weeks if not longer, and it's going to feel like a long wait...
Anyway, Bodie and I have gone to a few shows this year, and we've done well at some and not so well at others. Sometimes I feel like I'm not improving at all (there's no doubt that Bodie is - it's me that's the problem!), and I get so discouraged I just don't know what to do. I'm definitely not so good at showing - haven't yet learned how to re-create at a show what I can do at home. And since showing is the most obvious (though not necessarily the most accuarate) way to measure improvement, not being able to perform well at shows is very frustrating - and discouraging; it makes me feel like I'm no better than I was a year ago, or two years, even though I can see quite clearly how much more advanced he is - so there's no one to blame it on but myself. It's not so much that I want to reach some particular standard, or to beat other people - just that I want to improve, to be better than I was before. I'm struggling with this right now, and feeling bad about it - though there are some times I do feel more positive, like when Bodie and I have a good workout at home, and for a little while I know I'm better than I used to be...
But of course I still love being with the horses, and it is great to watch Bodie improving. He's...maybe...growing up a little bit, getting a bit more mature - not quite so spooky, though still timid. I brought him to the biggest show he's ever been to back at the end of June. It's called the "Ride for Life" - it's a breast cancer benefit that my local dressage organization puts on each year, and each year it gets bigger. It's a huge licensed dressage show Saturday and Sunday - the competitiors raise money, like in the various Walks for the Cure, etc. - plus there's also the "benefit" aspect, with vendors and a big exhibition by big-name dressage people on Saturday night, which lots of non-riders come to. There are tons of people and horses everywhere, stuff going on constantly, noise and commotion; it's all very close together...the stalls, the practice rings, the show rings. And there's so much landscaping - a landscaping company donates it all, and there are big flowerpots and trees and bushes around the dressage rings, including at the entrances. Enough to blow a timid little horse's mind - Bodie was positively goggle-eyed. This was the first time he was stabled at a show, too.
Shows like that typically have much more experienced judges, who judge more strictly than the ones at the local schooling shows I often go to. But we did pretty well in one of our tests, so I was fairly pleased, and really proud of Bodie. I showed on Saturday, but my trainer was the show manager so I was there all day Friday (and Saturday and Sunday!) working, and I spent a lot of time Friday walking Bodie around to get him used to it all - and that really paid off. By the time we rode, he was no longer spooking at the plants or the little huts where the judges were sitting or the bleachers or anything.
It was miserably hot - over 95 degrees. Really rough on the horses especially. Jackets were excused, which was nice, though some insane people still wore them! Not me, though! There was a professional photographer there, so I got some nice pictures, both of my rides and of me and Bodie later. I love this one of him:
Looking suspiciously at the possibly-horse-eating foliage as we enter the ring...it was awfully close. So not our finest entrance ever - there was a bit of wavering happening!
My position could be better - well, when couldn't it be?? - although the new saddle's going to magically make my position perfect! *g**g* - but Bodie looks pretty good here; he's stepping up nicely under himself...
What a good boy!!
Showing's all finished...now we can relax (amazing that the sweat doesn't show more - it was brutally hot!)
So...since then we've had two small schooling shows, but now no shows until September, which I'm glad about. Too hot, for one thing, and too many thunderstorms this summer!
And there's not much else in horse news...well, the horse dentist is coming today! *g*
Pros has been happening along in the backgorund, as always - had a wonderful visit with msmoat, who came to spend a few days, which was fabulous - and I will have some more Pros-related news - specifically, about next year's Close Quarters - very soon...
So it's been a long time since I updated. I had some issues with Griggs...my poor old boy; he's 22 this year, and for a while I really thought he was declining. He lost a ton of weight at the end of the winter, which isn't that uncommon, but he was positively gaunt, and rather than gaining it all back when the grass came in, as they usually do, he stayed abnormally thin. And then at the end of May he started drooling - not normal horse drool, but really gross, excessive drool, with bits of chewed-up food in it. Yuck. And he looked so old and depressed and terrible. I started the process of diagnosis had blood tests done, etc. etc., nothing conclusive - and then the vet gave him a gastroscopy, stuck a tube up his nose and then down, first into his gutteral pouches ( strange little flaps where there are nerves that control swallowing, in case there was something there that might cause the drooling) and then down his esophagus into his stomach. He has a very, very long esophagus! It was kind of cool to watch...the worst part of it for him was that he couldn't eat for 12 hours before - which meant he had no turnout the night before, and he was one angry and grumpy horse that morning!
Anyway, the vet found moderate-severity ulcers in his stomach. She wasn't sure whether or to what extent they were related to his other symptoms - drooling can be a sign of abdominal pain, but she wasn't certain these ulcers were severe enough for that - but we decided to treat them first and then go from there. There's a very effective (and expensive! seems like it must be made of liquid gold or something! but at least it works...) ulcer treatment for horses - a 28-day course; we also upped his feed and put him on some alfalfa (it has a high pH and thus a buffering effect). Well, after four days I noticed that he was drooling less. By two weeks into the treatment, the drooling was gone, and he'd started to put on weight, and he generally was just...happier. He's finished his treatment now (and had another gastroscopy, to confirm the ulcers are indeed all gone), and he's so much better - he doesn't look old and pathetic anymore; he doesn't act depressed. So it's obvious, in retrospect, that he was in pain... That's the most difficult thing, because you know something's wrong, but they can't talk, and it's not obvious what it is, and you just have to find a way to figure it out.
He's still too thin - he lost a lot of muscle, even though I continued to ride him - but hopefully with time he'll regain that; he's a very big guy, so it's not going to happen overnight. I'm just so glad we were able to find the cause of the problem, and to treat it, and that he's feeling better. He's such a good trouper...
Bodie's had some issues too. He's had some continuing back soreness, and though the soreness isn't in the saddle area, I've finally had to accept that it's likely saddle related and that there's just no getting around the fact that he needs a new saddle. I've been reluctant to accept this, because his current saddle is supposed to be so fancy and high tech, and it cost so damn much (luckily, it's a brand that is in high demand, and I should be able to resell it without too much difficulty whenever I decide to). But none of that makes it the right saddle for him - I can no longer deny that it just doesn't fit him. I'm not sure it ever fit him as well as it should, but it was probably at least acceptable - but not anymore. I got it when he was not even 5, just a baby, and he's 8 now, bulkier and more muscled; his build has really changed, especially in the last year. Now I think it's uncomfortable for him at best, painful at worst. And I can't let that go on.
So over the last few weeks I've tried saddles, and yesterday I bit the bullet and ordered a new one. It had to be done, for Bodie - but to tell the truth, I'm not entirely unhappy about it. It's never really been a great saddle for me either - comfortable, but it doesn't put me in a good position, good balance; doesn't help me at all - and I definitely need all the help I can get. I don't need to be fighting my tack. That alone probably wouldn't have been enough to justify the expenditure, but it does mean I won't be unhappy to stop riding in this one, and I'm definitely looking forward to getting the new one. Unfortunately, that probably won't be for at least six weeks if not longer, and it's going to feel like a long wait...
Anyway, Bodie and I have gone to a few shows this year, and we've done well at some and not so well at others. Sometimes I feel like I'm not improving at all (there's no doubt that Bodie is - it's me that's the problem!), and I get so discouraged I just don't know what to do. I'm definitely not so good at showing - haven't yet learned how to re-create at a show what I can do at home. And since showing is the most obvious (though not necessarily the most accuarate) way to measure improvement, not being able to perform well at shows is very frustrating - and discouraging; it makes me feel like I'm no better than I was a year ago, or two years, even though I can see quite clearly how much more advanced he is - so there's no one to blame it on but myself. It's not so much that I want to reach some particular standard, or to beat other people - just that I want to improve, to be better than I was before. I'm struggling with this right now, and feeling bad about it - though there are some times I do feel more positive, like when Bodie and I have a good workout at home, and for a little while I know I'm better than I used to be...
But of course I still love being with the horses, and it is great to watch Bodie improving. He's...maybe...growing up a little bit, getting a bit more mature - not quite so spooky, though still timid. I brought him to the biggest show he's ever been to back at the end of June. It's called the "Ride for Life" - it's a breast cancer benefit that my local dressage organization puts on each year, and each year it gets bigger. It's a huge licensed dressage show Saturday and Sunday - the competitiors raise money, like in the various Walks for the Cure, etc. - plus there's also the "benefit" aspect, with vendors and a big exhibition by big-name dressage people on Saturday night, which lots of non-riders come to. There are tons of people and horses everywhere, stuff going on constantly, noise and commotion; it's all very close together...the stalls, the practice rings, the show rings. And there's so much landscaping - a landscaping company donates it all, and there are big flowerpots and trees and bushes around the dressage rings, including at the entrances. Enough to blow a timid little horse's mind - Bodie was positively goggle-eyed. This was the first time he was stabled at a show, too.
Shows like that typically have much more experienced judges, who judge more strictly than the ones at the local schooling shows I often go to. But we did pretty well in one of our tests, so I was fairly pleased, and really proud of Bodie. I showed on Saturday, but my trainer was the show manager so I was there all day Friday (and Saturday and Sunday!) working, and I spent a lot of time Friday walking Bodie around to get him used to it all - and that really paid off. By the time we rode, he was no longer spooking at the plants or the little huts where the judges were sitting or the bleachers or anything.
It was miserably hot - over 95 degrees. Really rough on the horses especially. Jackets were excused, which was nice, though some insane people still wore them! Not me, though! There was a professional photographer there, so I got some nice pictures, both of my rides and of me and Bodie later. I love this one of him:
Looking suspiciously at the possibly-horse-eating foliage as we enter the ring...it was awfully close. So not our finest entrance ever - there was a bit of wavering happening!
My position could be better - well, when couldn't it be?? - although the new saddle's going to magically make my position perfect! *g**g* - but Bodie looks pretty good here; he's stepping up nicely under himself...
What a good boy!!
Showing's all finished...now we can relax (amazing that the sweat doesn't show more - it was brutally hot!)
So...since then we've had two small schooling shows, but now no shows until September, which I'm glad about. Too hot, for one thing, and too many thunderstorms this summer!
And there's not much else in horse news...well, the horse dentist is coming today! *g*
Pros has been happening along in the backgorund, as always - had a wonderful visit with msmoat, who came to spend a few days, which was fabulous - and I will have some more Pros-related news - specifically, about next year's Close Quarters - very soon...